Bathing suit



W. D. lDE

Feb. 5, 1935.

BATHING SUIT Filed Dec. 12, 1933 l mv TOR Z4 Vww a JQ BY Gan/ i I49ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 5, 1935 1 UNETED STATES PATENT OFFICE BATHINGSUIT ticn of Ohio Application December 12, 1933, Serial No. 701,972

5 Claims.

This invention relates to bathing suits of the one-piece style, and isconcerned more particularly with a one-piece suit of novel constructionwhich is of attractive appearance, provides the '5. necessary protectionto the wearer while giving the desired exposure of the back, and affordscomfort and freedom of movement of all parts of the bedy.

One-piece bathing suits as commonly made heretofore include a bodyportion consisting of a top and a skirt, and trunks concealed within theskirt and held in place by being stitched to the body portion at thewaistline. In that style of suit in which the top has a back, the lineof stitching'securing the trunks in place extends entirely around thewaist and this is objectionable for several reasons. The trunks fit thebody much more snugly than does the body portion of the garment,particularly at the back of the waist,

and with the entire top of the trunks secured to the back, the latter isdrawn in at the Waist and this makes an undesirable sharp break in thesmooth lines of the garment. Also, with the trunks and back stitchedtogether as described,

the movements of the wearer are considerably hampered, since movementsof the legs in swimming place strains on the trunks which are resistednot only by the trunks but also by the body portion of the garmentthrough the line of stitching.

Another style of one-piece suit is made without a back and thisnecessitates the use of straps of some sort, attached to the top of thetrunks at the rear to hold them in position. While a garment of thattype ofiers less interference to bodily movement, there are someswimmers who prefer not to have the entire back exposed and the backlessgarment, while perhaps more comfortable than one with a back asheretofore made, has by no means displaced the latter in popular favor.

The present invention is accordingly directed to the provision of a newone-piece suit having a back, which is of better appearance and affordsgreater freedom of movement than do the former suits of the same generalstyle. The desired result is obtained by a novel trunks construction anda new method of supporting the trunks at the back and, by the use ofthese features, the neces- 50 sary support is afforded to the trunkswithout detracting from the appearance of the suit when worn, andwithout hampering the movements of the wearer.

The new garment includes a body portion consisting of a top and skirtand trunks lying within the skirt, the top preferably being cut low atthe back to a point in or slightly above the waistline. The trunks aresecured to the body portion along the front of the waistline bystitching in the usual way. At the back, the top edge of the trunks issecured at its mid-point to the body portion by stitching and on eitherside of the point of attachment, the top edges of the trunks are free,although they may be held snugly in against the body by elastic inserts.Preferably, the top edge of the trunks at the back has an upwardlyprojecting portion which extends to the lowest point of the backopening, and the upper edge of this projection may be cut to conform tothe edge of the opening and is secured thereto by a short line ofstitching. As the edge of the opening in the top is finished with theusual hem, the stitching forming the hem may also be used to connect thetop edge of the trunks to the top of the garment and the connection isthen hardly noticeable. While the back of the trunks preferably has itstop edge secured at the mid-point to the body portion of the garment, itis to be understood that the back of the trunks could be connected tothe body at more than one point, if desired, but the single centralconnection is preferred.

With the construction described, it will be apparent that as the trunksare secured to the top of the garment only at or near the median line ofthe back, the body portion of the garment is not drawn in sharply ateither side of the waist over the hips and this gives the garment smoothflowing lines in the back. Also, the connection of the top of the trunksto the back at the central point does not interfere with the movement ofthe legs of the wearer since the top edge of the trunks is free oneither side of the central connection.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to theaccompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a view of the garment in frontelevation with parts broken away;

Fig.2 is a rear view of the garment in elevation with parts broken away;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 4. is a sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, the garment illustrated comprises a skirt 10,trunks 11, and a top portion above the skirt and including a front 12and a back 13 which are connected together over the shoulders by straps14. In some cases, as

The trunks 11 are connected to the skirt por-- tion along the front ofthe waistline by suitable stitching l9 and in order that the trunks beprop erly supported, they must also be connected in some manner to thebody portion of the garment at the back. In the usual construction ofonepiece suits, the back of the trunks stitched directly to the back ofthe skirt along thewaistline, but this means of support is generallyundesirable in suits of this type because the continuousline ofstitching causes a break in the smooth lines of the body portion bydrawing it in sharply around the waist, and the connection also hampersthe movements of the legs of the wearer in swimming.

To obviate these difficulties, I connect the top edge of the trunks tothe back of the body only at a point inward from the sides of thegarment and this leaves a substantial portion of the top edge of thetrunks free. Preferably, the trunks are cut-with an upward projection 20at the back and this projection extends to the lower edge of the backopening 18 and the top edge of the projection conforms to the edge ofthe opening. The top of the projection may then be connected to thebacker" the garment by the stitching21 which is usedto form the hemaround the opening and the connection is thus not noticeable.

Withthe trunks thus connected tothe body portion of the garment at theback, the top edge of the trunks is freeon either side of theconnection, as indicated at 22 and 23, and this avoids interference withthe wearer in his movements, whereas on a garment in which the top edgeof the trunks is connected throughoutits length to the back of thegarment, any strain imposed on the trunks by the wearer in swimming isresisted the hem.- This material prevents the top edge of the trunksfrom gaping, but it yields freely and thus does not serve tohamperbodily movemerits. v

While Ihave described the trunks as being connected to the body portionof the garment at the middle or" the back and along the edge'of the backopening, itwill be understood that othertypes of connection may beemployed. That described, however, is preferred since by its use, thegarment both has an attractive appearance and affords the greatestdegree of freedom to the wearer. f i

I claim:

l. A bathing suit which comprises a body portion made up of a topand askirt, trunks within the skirt, said top having a back with an openingtherein, said opening extending substantially down to'the waistline atthe back,- a connection between the top of thetrunks and the bodyportion along the waistline in front, and'a connection between a portionof the trunks in back and said body portion along the edge of saidopening.

2. A bathing suit which comprises a body portion made up of a top and askirt, trunks within the skirt, said top having a back with an openingtherein, said opening extending substantially down to the waistline atthe back, a connection between the top of the trunks and the bodyportion along the waistline in front, a connection between a portion ofthe top of the trunks in back and the body portion along the edge ofsaid opening, and resilientmeans at the top of the trunks inback forholding said top snugly against the" body.

3. A bathing suit which comprises abody portion made up; of a top and askirt, trunks within the skirt, said top having a front and back with 4.A bathing suit which comprises a body portion made up of a top and askirt, said top having a neck opening extending down substantially tothe waistline'at the back of the garment, trunks within said skirt, apermanent connection between.

the top of the trunks and the body portion substantially throughout thelength of the waist-' line at the front of the garment, at least aportion of the upper edge of the trunks substantially extending up to.and terminating along the lower back edge of the neck opening, and apermanent connection between at least a portion of the top edge of theback of the trunks and the body portion along the edge of said opening.j j

5. A bathing suit which comprises abody portion made up of a top and askirt, trunks within the skirt, said top having a neck opening extendingdownwardly in the back as far as theupper edge of the trunks, saidtrunks having at least a portion of their upper edge in backshapeditcconform to the-edge of said opening, a connec= tion between thetop of the, trunks in front and the body portion along the waistline,anda connection between the body portion and the top of the trunks inback along the edge of saidopening.

WALTER D. IDE.

